Talk ’N Text stops Rain or Shine 86-76

Talk ’N Text has done one thing very consistently this PBA season: beat Rain or Shine every time.
Larry Fonacier was big in the most crucial stretch in the fourth quarter last night as the Tropang Texters nipped the Elasto Painters, 86-76, in the Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The baby-faced Fonacier rifled in two triples and a long jumper in a torrid sequence for the Texters, who broke free from a tight game to take a 79-70 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
It was the sixth win in as many clashes for the Texters against Rain or Shine, with five of those victories coming in the Philippine Cup, including that unthinkable 4-0 sweep in the Finals that made Talk ’N Text the first team in 30 years to win the conference three straight seasons.
Donnell Harvey, called to return after not getting the desired results from NBA veteran Keith Benson, hit 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds and was a big reason why 7-foot-3 Rain or Shine import Bruno Sundov failed to dominate.
Fonacier finished with 17 points in his most impressive offensive performance of the conference, and Jason Castro added 11, including a critical jumper with the shot clock winding down that gave the Texters an 81-72 lead with 2:27 left.
“We played much better defense in this game,” coach Norman Black, who threw a double team on Sundov every time he touched the basketball, said. “Our defense has been very suspect the entire conference.
“The idea was to make it hard for him to go to the basket,” Black said of his defensive ploy. “He’s a very good offensive player and our goal was to have a double team on him every time he gets near the paint.”
Sundov finished with 25 points, but the Painters saw an end to their five-game winning streak after no local player was able to hit in twin digits. Rain or Shine dropped to 5-2, now tied for second with idle Petron Blaze.
Incidentally, Petron is now looking at Samardo Samuels, a 6-foot-9 Jamaican with lots of pro ball experience, as a replacement for the banned Renaldo Balkman. Balkman, who had a fit of rage in the dying seconds of the Boosters’ losing match with Alaska last week, was banned from further play in the league by commissioner Chito Salud and slapped a P250,000 fine.
Samuels, who averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in his last NBA D-League stint with the Reno Big Horns, is not expected to make it in time, though, for the Boosters’ clash with the Painters in Panabo on Saturday.
Buenafe’s 19 points was the second-most by anyone in the tournament, just a shade under the 20 that KG Canaleta scored in a losing cause against Talk ’N Text more than a month ago.
Eric Dawson paced the Bolts with 27 points and 20 rebounds and Chris Ross missed his first career triple-double by just two rebounds after shooting 17 and dishing out 11 assists.
Barako Bull lost for the fourth straight time and is now down to 3-5 even after a 37-point, 25-rebound game by import Evan Brock. Jonas Villanueva and Mark Macapagal had 16 points each for the Energy.